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Chicago (Full Screen Edition) Customer Reviews (103 - 105 of 120 Reviews)

Very well cast and directed. The sets, lighting, camera work, and editing are all top notch and keep the story moving at a breakneck pace, in a very entertaining fashion.

What a great way to bring the musical back to the forefront!

Chicago Will Hopefully Bring Back the Big-Screen Musical
If you want to leave a theater happily tapping your feet, singing a song, and yearning for the age of the big-screen musical, go see "Chicago." This high energy romp has outstanding choreography, cinematography, costuming, and all that jazz. But most surprising of all, this movie has three well-known actors previously unknown to me for their singing and dancing talents that literally filled the theater with energy and enthusiasm.

Two big thumbs up to Richard Gere (who knew he could sing and tap-dance?) Renee Zellweger, and Catherine Zeta-Jones who turn in admirable performances. From the opening sequence when Zeta-Jones belts out "All That Jazz" you will be overwhelmed by the sheer intensity and downright fun of this film. There are so many highlights and unforgettable moments, but my favorites in addition to the Zeta-Jones opener were Gere's "Razzle Dazzle," John C. Reilly's "Mister Cellophane," Queen Latifah's "When You're Good to Mama," and every moment Renee Zellweger was on screen, especially her show-stopping marionette duo with Gere, "We Both Reached for the Gun."

Not only will I buy the DVD, but I will see this one again in theaters. That's high praise for a movie that was third on my list to see, but I bought the ticket only because the other two were sold out the day I went. Go see this one and hope Hollywood decides to give us more of this caliber.

*** RAZZLE DAZZLE: 3.5 STARS ***
Adapted from the successfully revived hit musical that has been doing the rounds on Broadway and London's West End, Chicago is the cinematic directorial debut of stage director and choreographer Rob Marshall. Chicago is on the whole a dark affair, akin somewhat to both Cabaret and Bugsy Malone. It stars Renee Zellwegger as the 'heroine' Roxie Hart, who shoots her no good lover dead when he decides to dump her. Arrested and sent to jail she meets up with fellow killer Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta Jones), a former nightclub chanteusse that gunned down both her husband and sister after catching them in a romantic clinch. Velma, initially has no interest in poor old naive Roxie because due to her celebrity lawyer Billy Flynn (Richard Gere) and the prison warder (Queen Latifah) she's a bigger celebrity in prison than she ever was out of prison. That is until Roxie starts to steal her thunder.

Hollywood has a long established tradition of making musical movies, indeed the first Oscars best picture winner of the sound era, in 1929, was The Broadway Melody. Until the 1970's when musicals became strangely unfashionable musicals continued to pick up those famous golden statuettes regularly, with the likes of Gigi, West Side Story, My Fair Lady and The Sound of Music picking up Best Picture Oscars between 1959 and 1965. It wasn't until 2001's Moulin Rouge that the musical was resurrected and readopted as a viable and popular movie genre. Chicago has been nominated for a whopping 13 Oscars with at least one nomination in every major category, with the exception of Best Actor. It also won three major Golden Globe Awards, Best Picture and Best Actor and Actress in a musical or comedy for its stars, Richard Gere and Renee Zellweger.

With all the Golden Globes and Oscar hype you might expect that the movie adaptation of Chicago would be something special. However, enjoyable as Chicago undoubtedly is, it is certainly not in the league of any of the previously mentioned screen musicals. Don't get me wrong, Chicago is a good movie, an enjoyable movie and an entertaining movie. It boasts some decent performances too, particularly from the likes of Catherine Zeta Jones and the formidable presence that is Queen Latifah. Richard Gere has some nice moments too and is appropriately slick as lawyer Billy Flynn, manipulating the media and tap dancing his way out of many a tight spot. He has one of the best numbers in the whole show (Razzle Dazzle) and with his background of stage musicals, earlier in his career, was perfectly cast. John C. Reilly nominated in this years Oscars for best supporting actor is both appropriately sad and gullible in equal measures, as Roxie's poor sap of a husband, Amos. ReneeZellweger's performance is also good but not a patch on her turns in Nurse Betty, Bridget Jones's Diary, or Jerry Maguire. Undoubtedly she gives a good performance and is a likeable heroine but next to the likes of Catherine Zeta Jones her lack of a musical background is evident.

Chicago is a very difficult show to open out cinematically, with much of the action being set in a prison. Nearly all of the scenes in Chicago betray its stage origins with little expansion of the action out-with a traditional theatrical format. Even with the device of cutting between the reality and the musical fantasies in Roxie's head, Chicago looks like it was all filmed on a sound stage, which of course it was. It therefore seems strangely unbelievable that Rob Marshall has been nominated as Best Director in this years Academy awards when Baz Luhrmann was excluded from last years nominations. Love it or loathe it Moulin Rouge was surely a far more original, innovative and technically more impressive film than the rather formulaic staginess of Chicago. However, what the movie lacks in innovation it makes up for with its classic musical numbers, such as 'All That Jazz', 'Mr Cellophane' and the previously mentioned 'Razzle Dazzle'.

In summary, if you are a fan of stage musicals and cant afford to get to Broadway or London's West End then this is certainly worth the price of a movie ticket and far cheaper too. It boasts a great cast that you'll certainly never see on stage together but you'll miss out on that unique live experience. The choice is yours and in the words of Amos Hart 'thanks for listening'.